President Trump announced Thursday morning in an open letter that he was canceling the June 12 summit between himself and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. In a letter addressed to Kim, Trump expressed regret about the dictator’s recent words and actions.
“I was very much looking forward to being there with you,” Trump writes. “Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting. Therefore, please let this letter serve to represent that the Singapore summit, for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world, will not take place.”
The American president held out hope that negotiations might proceed in the future. “I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me, and ultimately, it is only that dialogue that matters,” Trump writes. “Some day, I look very much forward to meeting you.” He said that in its recent actions, North Korea has “lost a great opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity and wealth.”
Trump thanked Kim for the recent release of three American hostages, a move seen as a gesture by the North Koreans toward peace talks. The president also reminded Kim that America’s nuclear capabilities “are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used.”
See an image of the full letter From Trump to Kim below:
Update: A White House source points to the source of Trump’s letter as Wednesday’s belligerent statement from the North Korean regime, in which a spokesperson blasted Vice President Mike Pence as a “political dummy” for seeming to endorse in a Monday Fox News interview the “Libya model” for ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons if Kim is unwilling to negotiate. The North Koreans see the Libya example, where Muammar Qaddafi gave up his nuclear weapons in early 2004 only to be ousted 7 years later with the help of the U.S. government, as a threat to Kim’s power.
The White House source says the more consequential part of North Korean statement was the “literal” threat from Pyongyang of nuclear war. “Whether the US will meet us at a meeting room or encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown is entirely dependent upon the decision and behavior of the United States,” read the statement.
